Refrigerator breaker strip construction



Nov. 22, 1949 E. D. DRAKE REFRIGERATOR BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 13, 1944 ATTORA/[Y Nov. 22, 1949 E. D. DRAKE 2,489,019

REFRIGERATOR BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 13, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. EAQL 0 DEA/(E 0M 4. @414 Afro/6W6) Nov. 22, 1949 E. D. DRAKE 2,489,019

REFRIGERATOR BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 13, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ,4 rme/w r Nov. 22, 1949 E D. DRAKE 2,489,019

REFRIGERATOR BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 13, 1944 INVENT OR.

EARL D. DEA/CE ATTOPA/[V Nov. 22, 1949 E. D. DRAKE 2,489,019

' REFRIGERRTOR BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 13, 1944 5 Shee ts-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

EAQL D. DQ/I/Q BY 6M4, 7M

ATTOPA/[Y Patented Nov. 22, 1949 REFRIGERATOR BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION Earl D. Drake, Greenville, Mich., assignor to Gibson Refrigerator Company, Greenville, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application January 13, 1944, Serial No. 518,051

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to refrigerators of the household type, and more particularly to the cabinets thereof.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet of relatively inexpensive, light, but particularly rugged construction.

Another object is to provide a refrigerator cabinet in which reinforcing means is provided about the front of the cabinet shell and about the access opening to the liner, and the reinforcing means are rigidly interconnected so that the liner and shell mutually stiffen each other.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cabinet having a novel form of support for the liner within the outer shell.

A still further object is to provide a refrigerator cabinet in which the joints between the various sections of the walls are effectively concealed.

Another object is to provide an efficient seal about the door opening designed to reduce the space between the refrigerator door and cabinet to a minimum.

A still further object is to provide a refrigerator cabinet having a breaker strip and gasket mounted on the front thereof, and in which the breaker strip and gasket form substantially the entire exposed front face of the cabinet.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel means for connecting the breaker strips to the outer shell and liner of the cabinet.

These objects will more fully appear in the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a refrigerator cabinet embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on substantially the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the refrigerator cabinet with the ornamental breaker strips between the liner and outer shell removed in order to show the interior construction of the cabinet;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an isometric view of the cabinet liner;

Figures 8 to 10 are fragmentary cross-sectional views taken on substantiallythe'lines 0-8, 9-9 and Ill-l0, respectively, in Figure 5;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing a modified form of the means for sealing the space between the cabinet and door;

Figure 12 is a cross-sectlonalview of a still further modified form of sealing means;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary vertical sectionalview of a modified form of refrigerator cabinet;

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line ll-ll of Figure 13; and

Figure 15 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on substantially the line l5-l5 of Figure 13.

In the drawings, Figures 1 to 10 illustrate one form of the present invention. The figures show a refrigerator cabinet III formed to provide a refrigerated food storage compartment II in the upper part thereof anda machinery compartment 12 in the lower part thereof. In general, the cabinet comprises an outer shell I 3 and a liner it supported within the outer shell and spaced therefrom. The liner H defines all but the front walls of the food storage compartment II. Insulating material 9 is packed between the liner and shell.

The outer shell is made up of a so-called wrap around side panel 15, a back panel l6, and a base II. Preferably the wrap around side panel 15 is formed from one piece of sheet metal bent into U shape, as shown particularly in Figure 5. The front edge of the side panel I! is provided with reinforcing means in the form of a generally U-shaped channel I8 and a laterally inwardly extending flange 19. The channel and flange are formed by bending the metal of the side panel l5 inwardly, then rearwardly upon itself, and flnally laterally inwardly to form the flange l9. See particularly Figure 10.

The rear edge of the side panel 15 is bent laterally inwardly to provide a flange 20 to which the back panel I6 is welded or otherwise secured, as shown in Figures 2, 4 and 6. The back panel I: is formed with an opening at the lower end thereof defined by an inwardly extending flange 2|. The opening just mentioned is at the rear of the machinery compartment l2.

The lower ends of the wrap around side panel I! and the back panel l6 are tied together by the base II which is welded or otherwise secured thereto.

A front cross rail I is connected to the front edges of the side panel I between the machinery compartment l2 and the food storage compartment II. A metal pan 8 forms the roof of the machinery compartment i2. The pan 9 rests on the lower flange of cross rail 1 and flange 2| on the back panel I! and forms a support for insulation 9.

The liner i4 is preferably of generally rectangular box shaped configuration. (See Figure I particularly.) It is provided with an access opening at the front thereof. Preferably the liner is formed from three pieces of sheet metal. The back 22 and two upright sides 23 of the liner are formed from one piece of metal bent into U shape, as shown in Figure 2. The forward extremities of the sides of the liner are reinforced by bending the metal laterally outwardly, thence rearwardly to form vertically extending channels 24, and then laterally outwardly to provide flanges 25, see Figures 7 and 10.

The top 26, and bottom 21 of the liner are identical and are formed from flat sheets of metal. The portions at the front edges of the top 26 and bottom 21 are reinforced by bending the metal outwardly and rearwardly to provide channels 29, and then outwardly again to provide flanges 29. The top 26 and bottom 21 of the liner overlie the top and bottom edges of the back 22 and the sides 23. (See Fig. 7.) The channels 28 extend laterally beyond the side 23 to overlie the upper and lower ends of the channels 24 on the sides of the liner. Preferably the edges of the various walls of the liner are seam welded together and the top 26 and bottom 21 are welded to the upper and lower ends of channels 28 and flanges 29. Thus, it will be seen that the perimeter of the access opening at the front of the liner is defined by a reinforcement of angular cross section extending entirely around the opening, and formed by channels 24 and 28 and flanges 25 and 29. This provides an extremely rigid construction, one that maintains its rectangular configuration even if made of relatively light gauge material.

The liner is supported upon the outer shell by means of two relatively heavy horizontal channel shaped cross members 3|! and 31. Preferably the flanges of the channels extend forwardly from the web thereof. Cross member 30 embraces the flange 29 on the top of the liner. The upper side wall of the channel shaped reinforcement 28 rests on the lower flange of cross member 30.

The cross member 3! embraces the flange 29 on the bottom 21 of the liner and the loweredge of flange 29 preferably rests on the lower flange of the cross member 3i. The web of the cross member 3| and flange 29 of bottom 21 of the liner are bolted together in the same manner as the upper cross member 30 and flange 29 are connected together.

The ends of the two cross members 30 and 3| are positioned behind the flange l9 on the outer and 3! from the outer shell so that no appreciable heat loss occurs.

The liner and outer shell are additionally braced by four plates of plywood or similar nonheat conducting material 34 which are bolted to the flanges l8 and 25 at approximately the midpoint of each side of the cabinet. See Figure 5. The plywood plate 34 at one side of the cabinet provides support for the latch of the door. The plates 34 provide some slight support for the cabinet within the outer shell but are primarily intended toact as additional stiffening means for the four sides of the liner and outer shell.

The front of the cabinet proper around the access opening in the liner is formed by ornamental breaker strips 35. The breaker strips may be formed from any suitable hard insulating material, ornamented as desired. The cross section of each breaker strip is illustrated in Figure 3. The laterally outer edge of each breaker strip is provided with an inturned portion 38 paralleling the side panel i5 of the outer shell which terminates in a laterally outwardly extending flange 31. The flange 31 is parallel to and overlies the corresponding flange l9 on the outer shell. The portion 36 of each breaker strip is spaced away from the adjoining side wall of the channel I. to form a forwardly opening recess 38. The recess 38 is adapted to receive a gasket or sealing strip 39 of soft rubber or similar material, which will be more fully described presentLv.

The breaker strips 35 are connected to the cabinet by resilient fasteners 40 and 4|. Fasteners 40 are in the form of narrow spring metal strips attached to the breaker strips 35 at 42 in any suitable manner. The rearward ends of the strips 40 are provided with book shaped members 43 which snap over the adjacent edges of the flanges 25 on the liner. The flanges 31 of the breaker strips 35 are connected to the flange l9 on the side wall 15 by wire fasteners 4i shaped to the configuration shown in Figure 3. The fasteners are pushed through corresponding openings in the flanges i9 and 31 and snap into place to hold the flanges together.

The sealing gasket 39 is an elongated tube formed to the configuration shown in Figure 3. Opposite side walls of the gasket are parallel for a portion of their width and engage the sides of the recess 38. The base of the gasket 39 is provided with grooves extending lengthwise thereof which receive opposite sides of the spring metal fasteners 4| to hold the gasket 39 in place. The manner of attachment will be obvious from an inspection of Figure 3.

The front wall of the gasket 39 is bowed forwardly to a slight extent, but it does not extend much beyond the front face of the cabinet II, as defined by the breaker strips. The front wall of the gasket 39 is engaged by a plastic or metal head 44 secured to the perimeter of the door 45. The bead 44 is of convex form so that only a very narrow part thereof engages the gasket 39 more or less is the manner of a knife edge, so that when the door is closed the front wall of the gasket is sprung rearwardiy and to some extent embraces the head 44. That engagement provides a particularly effective seal between .the door and the cabinet. It will be noted thatif desired the head 44 can be made very thin, and as the gasket 39 is practically wholly embedded in the front of the cabinet, the space between the door and cabinet can be made very small. At the same time the gasket 39 can be made relatively thick in a fore and aft direction, so as to obtain the necessary great resilience required to provide an effective seal. Thegasket is supported laterally by the side walls of the recesses 55 so that no matter where the strips engage the gaskets a tight seal will be effected. Furthermore, the gasket overlies and conceals the joint between the breaker strips and the panel 15. It will be noted that the breaker strips and the gasket form substantially the entire exposed front face of the cabinet, except for the front wall of channel l and a very narrow strip about the access opening in the liner.

Because of the peculiar configuration of the foremost portions of the liner l5 and the side panel l5 of the outer shell, a particularly sturdy cabinet may be formed from relatively thin sheet metal. The rectangular configuration of the front portion of the liner, reinforced as it is by the channels 24 and flanges 25, is not easily distorted. That is, it is not easily forced out of its rectangular shape. The cross members 35 and 3! being connected to the upper and lower ends of this rigid rectangle at a plurality of points will transmit from one to the other any stresses imposed upon the outer shell or the liner. The

liner then becomes an effective brace for the en-' tire outer shell, and the outer shell with its reinforcement about its top and side edges acts to stiffen the liner.

In addition, the reinforcing channels l5 and flanges l5 on the outer shell act as pillars to provide a sturdy support forthe liner upon the outer shell. Thus, it is unnecessary to support the liner at the back or at the bottom, as has been the custom heretofore.

Figure 11 discloses a somewhat modified form of fastening means for the adjacent edges of the breaker strip and outer shell. In Figure 11 the breaker strip is designated by the numeral 55.

It has a laterally extending flange 5|. The side panel of the outer shell is designated by the numeral 52. The side panel 52 is provided with a rearwardly extending channel 55 and a laterally forwardly extending flange 55. The flanges 5| and 55 are fastened together by screws 55 which hold in place within the recess U-shaped clips 55. The clips 55 embrace the base of a gasket 51 similar to gasket 35.

A door 55 has secured thereto O-shaped clips 55 over which a resilient bead 55 is snapped. The portion of the head 55 remote from the door engages the front surface of the gasket 51 in the same manner as strip 55 previously described.

Figure 12 shows a still further modified form a sealing device for the space between the door and the cabinet. A breaker strip 5| having a flange 52 is connected to a side panel 53 provided with a flange 54 by means of screws 55. The adjacent portions of the breaker strip 5| and side wall 53 provide a recess 65 into which a gasket 51 is inserted. Tongues 55 and 55 are struck inwardly from the respective sides of the recess 65 to support the rubber gasket 51. A head 15 is connected to a door II. The head 15 engages the front wall of the gasket 51 to form a seal between the door and cabinet in the same manner as the previously described form of the invention.

Figures 13 to 15 show a modified form of refrigerator cabinet. This cabinet differs from the cabinet shown in Figures 1 to primarily in the fact that the forward portionoi' the liner extends forwardly beyond the front of the outer shell so that more space within the cabinet may be provided when a door having a hollowed inner faceisused.

The cabinet comprises an outer shell 55 of exactly the same configuration as the shell previously described. The outer shell has a rearwardly opening reinforcing channel 5| about its front perimeter and a laterally inwardly extending flange 52.

A liner 53, which is of the same configuration as liner I4, is also employed. The liner is provided with a rearwardly opening channel shaped reinforcement 54 about the perimeter of the access opening at the front and is provided with laterally extending flanges 55.

The liner is supported upon the outer shell 50 by upper and lower cross members 55 and 51 respectively of channel shaped cross section. The cross members, instead of being straight, as in the previous device, are bent rearwardly at their extremities. See Figure 15. Thus, when the ends of the cross members 85 and 51 are connected to the flanges 52 the central portions of the cross members which support the liner project forwardly to-some extent. That puts the front portion of the liner forwardly of the front portion of the outer shell.

The liner and shell are connected intermediate the extremities of each side wall by plates 55 of plywood or similar material formed to the 8- shaped configuration shown in Figure 13. A plurality of breaker strips 55 connect the flanges 52 and 55 of the various shell and liner and conceal the joints between the various members. Concealing gaskets 55 are attached to the cabinet in the same manner as in the modification previously described.

The reason for the particular construction shown in Figures 13 to 15 is apparent from an inspection of Figure 14. A door 5| having an arcuate liner wall 52 is employed. The inner wall is curved in the manner disclosed in order to provide somewhat more space within the refrigerator cabinet than would be obtained if the inner panel were flat. In order to utilize that space the shelves indicated at 55 should extend into the arcuate space in the door. That necessitates the extension of the liner forwardly in order to aid in efiectuatlng a proper seal between the door and cabinet, as well as to provide better support for the shelves 55.

It will be noted that the modification shown in Figures 13 to 15 differs from the previously described form of the invention only in the shape of the various parts connecting the liner to the shell. The shape of the front face of the cabinet around the door is determined substantially entirely by the shape of the breaker strip 55 and gasket 55. Hence the design of the front face of the cabinet can be varied throughout a wide range merely by changing the relative positions of the liner and shell and varying the shape of the breaker strip, or breakerstrip and gasket.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that this invention provides primarily a particularly rugged refrigerator cabinet. The reinforcing means about the front perimeters of the outer shell and liner stiffen the shell and the liner, and due to the particular connection of the liner to the outer shell, the liner and shell mutually reinforce each other. Thus, there is no tendency for the cabinet to tend to lean sideways, or in other words, assume a shape other than rectangular. In addition, the breaker strips overlie practically the entire front portions of the refrigerator cabinet and the only unsightly joints between the various parts are completely concealed by the sealing gaskets which lie within the 7 recesses formed therefor. Furthermore, the placement of the gaskets within the aforesaid recesses permits the use of a relatively large gasket with its attendant resiliency, and thereby provides a more effective seal without making the space between the cabinet and door unduly large.

The scope of the invention is indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A refrigerator cabinet including a sidewall comprising spaced apart inner and outer panels, said Outer panel having a portion at its front edge reversely bent rearwardly and terminating in a laterally extending flange, a breaker strip having a portion adjacent said outer panel extending rearwardly and provided with a laterally extending flange overlapping said flrst named flange to form a forwardly opening recess, means connecting the other edge of said breaker strip to said inner panel, a resilient sealing gasket in said recess, and resilient means holding said gasket in said recess and extending through said flanges to attach said flanges together.

2. A refrigeratorcabinet including a side wall comprising spaced apart inner and outer panels, said outer panel having a portion at its front edge reversely bent rearwardly and terminating in a laterally extending flange, a relatively thin rigid insulating sheet material breaker strip having a portion adjacent said outer panel extending rearwardly and terminating in a lateral flange overlapping said first named flange whereby to form a forwardly opening recess, means connecting the other edge of said breaker strip to said inner panel, and a resilient sealing gasket in said recess.

3. A refrigerator cabinet including a side wall comprising spaced apart inner and outer panels, said outer panel having a portion at its front edge reversely bent rearwardly and terminating in a laterally extending flange, a relatively thin rigid insulating sheet material breaker strip having a portion adjacent said outer panel extending rearwardly and terminating in a lateral flange overlapping said flrst named flange where- 8 by to form a forwardly opening recess, means connecting the other edge of said breaker strip to said inner'panel, and strip means in said recess concealing the same.

4. A refrigerator cabinet including a side wall comprising spaced apart inner and outer panels. said outer panel having a portion at its front edge reversely bent rearwardly and terminating in a laterally extending flange, a relatively thin rigid insulating sheet material breaker strip having a portion adjacent said outer panel extending rearwardly and terminating in a lateral flange overlapping said first named flange whereby to form a forwardly opening recess adapted to receive a sealing gasket, and means connecting the other edge of said breaker strip to said inner panel.

EARL D. DRAKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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